Do glazes remove wax/sealants?

SuperBee364

SuperBee364

New member
I know this doesn't really pertain to detailing but I have a question and need a detailed answer. ;)



Does anyone know if mounting a radar detector above the rear view mirror will degrade it's performace? I mean by mounting it there it will also be setting behind the factory tint. Will the tint reduce performance any? I would like to mount one up there just to keep out of site out of mind criminals from ripping it off! And also so I can hard wire it into my overhead console lighting panel.

Thanks.
 
I have not had any negative results with Passport or Valentine One detectors mounted behind the mirror. I think that's a pretty acceptable mounting location.
 
As far as I know, the only cars that I recall having issues with radar detectors are Tauruses with the Insta-Clear Windshield.

Those windshields wreaked havoc with the reception of many detectors.
 
Window tint does affect the LASER Reception a bit. It can affect the range for RADAR reception as well. I suggest you read the Valentine website the guy is pretty geeky and has a bunch of answers to common questions.
 
About two weeks ago, I polished my car, put two coats of BFWD followed by a coat of Midnight Sun. Today I washed the car (So much pollen!) and QD'd it. Then, on a whim, I covered the car with Show Car Glaze. I haven't topped it yet, but I was wondering if the glaze removed the coats of sealant and wax I put on the last time. Any ideas?
 
Termigator said:
About two weeks ago, I polished my car, put two coats of BFWD followed by a coat of Midnight Sun. Today I washed the car (So much pollen!) and QD'd it. Then, on a whim, I covered the car with Show Car Glaze. I haven't topped it yet, but I was wondering if the glaze removed the coats of sealant and wax I put on the last time. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

The word glaze has become as hard to define as wax or polish. Here is my understanding, although take it for what it is worth, which is just a good attempt at gathering info and research.

Glaze was a term that was originally applied to fresh paint jobs, because you shouldn't use a wax (that can seal the surface) on fresh paint. The very first glazes, to my best research, where actually very similar to waxes of the time, they just didn't have wax: Just oils and perhaps solvent. This was the last step body shops would do prior to handing the keys to the customer.

Body shops had also used various abrasives to refine the surface, including using a buffer in combination with corn-starch/water to help 'cut' the paint after sanding. This would leave a pretty swirled out finish. As better glazes came to market and machine polishing increased the term glaze was transformed to mean a final polish of sorts.

These new machine glazes tended to be a fine abrasive (to help remove the compound marring, which we all know makes the most dramatic increase in appearance) that refined the surface as well as some level of protection. So hand glazes tended to be now abrasive and machine glazes tended to have some fine abrasives.

A lot of detailers would use oil rich hand glazes to increase the look of the paint, prior to applying a wax coat.

Today the term glaze is used to described various products, including waxes. Zymol calls its high end waxes 'Estate Glazes'. A lot of body shops still call the last step polishing step 'glazing the paint'. 4 Star 'Foam Pad Glaze' is really a final polish, as well as some 3M products, and older Meguiar's products like M80 Speed Glaze.

Detailers tend to associate machine glazing the paint with filling the swirl marks instead of completely removing them. This is because body shops tend to work in volume, so time is key. Completely removing swirl marks can be extremely time consuming and cut into profits. Thus the polishes may have a little bit of fill to them to create the appearance of perfect paint in far less time.

Many detailers, to this day, will still use a non-abrasive glaze under their favorite carnuaba waxes.

I have heard of a few old school guys who would use a glaze on top of a wax, usually just prior to a show, because they felt that the it improved the looks. This is obviously a matter of perception and personal taste, that much is up to you.

If a non-abrasive glaze (such as Meguiar's M07, which Meguiar's refers to as a 'pure polish') is apply on top of wax, then the only 'damage' to the wax should be any abrasion from the application. Press hard enough with a towel and you can rub wax right off of the surface, so it is constantly being abraded away. If you applied the glaze with a soft pad or microfiber and wiped away gently then the amount of abrasion is probably minimal. This is doesn't take into account any effect that solvents in the glaze may have, although I am assuming (always dangerous) those to be miniscule.

Since most glazes are designed to 'stick' to paint, I wonder how much of the glaze is actually left behind on a wax coating and not wiped away when the product is buffed off?

Of course if the glaze was applied aggressively, either by machine or hand, most of the wax could be abraded away mechanically.
 
Wax and Glaze ?Set-up?

Carnauba in today's wax formulas functions mostly as a carrier; it?s used to keep the polymers and oils on your car's surface. When applied to a surface will not adhere properly on its own, solvents and miscible oils are added to enable it to spread evenly to the surface. Natural and synthetic wax and glazes initially adhere by surface tension; the balance of the adherence process is that it works its way via the carrier system (solvent and / or oils) and the polymers into the microscopic gaps and a valley of the paint film surface thereby creating a mechanical anchor, a wax doesn?t form a true covalent (molecular) bond to the surface, this is due to its limited polymer content.

An organic wax or glaze cures i.e. form a hard shell over the surface, they are time, temperature and humidity dependent; after sufficient drying times do a quick swipe test with your finger, if no smearing or drag is evident; the residue is ready to be removed.

Bonding

A non-organic wax or glaze is usually formulated with polymers that form a bond with the paint surface or the polymers in a wax. This bond is not as strong as the molecular bond formed by a polymer sealant (See also Organic Wax)

Organic waxes initially adhere by surface tension; the balance of the adherence process is that it works its way via the carrier system (solvent and / or oils) into the microscopic gaps and valleys of the paint film surface thereby creating a mechanical anchor.
 
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